


milk is my sugar

by n_kei



Category: NCT (Band), SuperM (Korea Band)
Genre: Coming of Age, Friendship, M/M, Maid Cafe, Romance, Self-Discovery, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2020-01-24 11:47:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18570847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/n_kei/pseuds/n_kei
Summary: As the class president and a member of the student council, Jaehyun overhears a rumour about one of his classmates working at a questionable establishment, and decides to investigate.





	1. 01

**Author's Note:**

> This idea started, innocently enough, with [this prompt](https://twitter.com/allthejaeyong/status/1115408640331014144). It was too elaborate to be a drabble, so here you have it, my stab at a maid cafe x jaeyong fic. I don't know where this is going for once. Ratings may go up, angst might come by to say hello; you know the drill ;) Enjoy <3
> 
> This chapter is beta'd by the amazing [yuvana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuvana) <3<3<3 Thank you a million times over!!

The Pink Café is, as the name suggests, pink. Not blue, not purple, or any other colour of the rainbow. It’s pink. Everything is pink. Pink plates, pink glassware, pink utensils, pink seats and tables. There is only ever pink- except for the big red bow sitting atop a pink wig, long and curling against the strong jawline, conveniently hiding the adam's apple if one looks hard enough.

The server, wearing pink blush and pink lip gloss, blinks innocently, then his smooth, cherubic face breaks into a sweet smile that curves his eyes to crescents, like he was just gifted with a basket of puppies. (He was not.)

All the customer did was raise his hand to order, but the detail didn't matter. Because to him, there is nothing more precious than the smile from the pink-haired server. It’s _adorable_. The customer stammers his order, gesturing with a shaky hand to the menu, and the server smiles again, bright and warm, and reassures the customer that he will be coming back, before skipping to the kitchen to print the order.

He makes a casual comment about the weather (it's the start of spring and the temperature is getting warmer) to the other maid, a girl named Elizabeth, who empathizes with a sweet, understanding smile. Elizabeth gathers the drinks she's made, places them on a serving tray and shuffles back to the tables, the clicks of her pink kitten doll heels following behind her. He wears a similar pair, only a few sizes bigger. Otherwise, their uniforms are the same: pink and pale pink colour weights of a typical French maid costume, with soft frills pressed to fluffy perfection.

“Table 3,” the kitchen calls out, pushing a plate of hearty omelette rice through. He dutifully collects the plate, places it on a pink tray, and strides back to the dining area and settling the steamy food in front of the customer.

“I have one lovely omu-rice for one lovely Joon-oppa!” He chirps with a bright smile. His normal voice is a dead give-away to this illusion, so he speaks as lightly and sweetly as he can.

It's much less about the disguise, though. His regulars know that he is not a girl, and newcomers are too stunned by his appearance to properly judge the rest of him. Sometimes, he changes his voice to keep up with the play. Other times, he's comfortable being himself.

'He' being Lee Taeyong.

And this is as far removed from the Lee Taeyong everyone knows at school.

Let’s backtrack a bit.

 

There was a time when Lee Taeyong looked down at people who went to establishments like maid cafés. He thought it was pathetic that someone would pay a cute girl to keep them company and make them feel happy. The concept was ridiculous, backwards, and rather misogynistic, yet more kept popping up in the city, from booming commercial neighbourhoods to quieter pockets. It was a phenomenon he didn’t really care about, so he ignored it.

That was, until one day when he found out about the limited release of two new Gundam models- the RX-78-2 and the MS-06-S Zaku II (because there was no Amuro without Char, and vice versa). It was the 40th anniversary of the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise, the models were beautiful and a collector’s wet dream, and Taeyong _had_ to have it.

The announcement was made a month prior to the primary release date, which gave him some time to save up the money. The only problem was that it was hard to earn that kind of money working low-paying jobs like flipping burgers, or his current part time doing stock and storage at the convenience store. So he began job hunting.

Two days into the hunt, he realized he was either too young, not qualified, or a combination of the two for jobs that would pay handsomely. Unless he landed two more part time jobs, resulting to working all the time, he wouldn’t make enough.

Feeling desperate, he turned to his sister for help.

(He also conveniently forgot she was the devil incarnate and was placed in his life to put him through hell.)

A day later, she came back to him with good news. Her friend, who was the manager and co-owner of a small café on the east end of the city, was hiring. It was a bit of an exclusive café, with really good desserts and drinks, and her friend offered to pay more up front, provided that he promised to stay half the year and not break anything. It was a ten minute walk from his house, and far enough from his school that he wouldn’t have to worry about running into his classmates.

He said yes without hesitation.

The next day, he approached the pink establishment with climbing horror and new found hate for his sister.

 _Really? Pink? Not that there's anything wrong with pink, but-_ he looks around from the outside. _So maybe it's just a pink-themed café, and there is no catch-_

Oh hell no.

Two girls, dressed from head to toe in pink French maid uniforms (with hair in different shades of pink as well) walked to a table, then proceeded to hold the male customer's hand as they all chanted something-

“Let's make this even more delicious!” The man then joined: “Lovely, lovely pink! Happiness in a blink!”

The girls waved their hands above the crepe cake like they've sprinkled something over it, and presented the man with pink utensils and stared at him while he ate. It was weird, but their stares were not intimidating or judgmental. They looked earnestly excited to see his reaction to the food, and giggled and clapped when he made satisfying sounds of happiness. Finally, they cupped their faces in a happy sigh and bid the customer a lovely, lovely meal before going back to the kitchen.

Taeyong stared dumbfounded, rooted to the spot.

It was insane that he would even consider this, but he remembered the number he was promised up front, and with a long sigh of annoyance and frustration, yanked the door open. At least he wasn’t asked to sing and dance.

…

Which, knowing his luck, became his famous last words. 

His sister’s friend, the manager and co-owner of the café, shot him a measured look while he glossed over her contract. Her name was Victoria, and while she had an approachable demeanor and a sweet smile, her eyes were sharp like the crack of a whip, and she had the aura of someone who would not take shit from anyone. 

“How do you feel about our uniform? And do you know how to sing and dance?” She asked with a small smile.

He managed to bite back his scoff, about to shake his head no when his eyes caught onto the text in the third section under **Duties and Responsibilities** :

3.1 Employee shall perform to the best of their abilities the duties and responsibilities that their position or job entails. Employee shall comply with all Employer policies, procedures, rules and regulations, both written and oral, as announced by the Employer from time to time.

Then lower still:

7.1 Employee shall be compensated with a base hourly salary of **₩20,000.00** . Employee is expected to complete a total of **fifteen** hours per week, between the hours of **4:00 PM** to **10:00 PM** . Overtime payment is compensated when Employee operates over **fifteen** hours per week at the hourly rate of **₩30,000.00**.

He looked up and met her expectant eyes with a bright and wide smile. “The uniform is cute, I’ll wear it in a heartbeat! I’ve never danced a day in my life, and I will learn and practice as diligently as I can.”

He could already feel the weight of the Gunpla models in his hands.

 

Back to the present.

It’s been three months since his limited edition models arrived on his doorstep, and he’s still working at The Pink Café. It’s not because the money is good, but because after the initial culture shock, he gave this opportunity an honest, open-minded shot and he’s realized he’s good at this. His view of a maid café has changed a lot, too.

At the beginning, it was awkward, degrading even, to swallow his masculine pride and wear a dress to sing and dance in front of a customer. He didn’t like the idea of shaving his legs, wearing stockings, garter belt, contact lens, and the most god-awful of all, makeup. But for the money, he managed.

As the tasks became like second nature (about a month into the job), he began to wonder what his customers were like. Then he found he didn't have to work for that information. When the café was not busy, the servers were encouraged to make small talk with the customers, get to know them a little (hook, line and sinker), then reel them in for a second visit.

Customers came from all walks of life. Most came to enjoy a pleasant conversation, no strings attached, with a server who just so happened to be very cute and very open to learning more about them. Some had girlfriends or wives, and wanted a second opinion on a touchy subject that just couldn’t be shared with between friends.

Most customers were nice, kind people.

Sure, Taeyong’s caught the occasional leer, the wandering eyes that drew up his legs when he bent over, but the skirt was long enough to cover everything. But those customers would be kicked out without another second, banned from entering the establishment ever again. And through the experiences, he's able to empathize with women in a way he never expected to, and it scared and empowered him to be even more vocal about social issues. Plus, most customers who knew of his sex were not put off by it, but rather welcomed it as a part of the package.

And thus comes the most unexpected reveal of this job: he genuinely enjoys it.

Taeyong never really cared to study, play sports, and learn musical instruments. He had no leadership skills to speak of, or any teamwork experiences besides the occasional group project in class. In school, he was the broody, quiet, sarcastic and mouthy student. But here, in his pink French maid outfit, he could be a different person. He smiled more, gave others energy, which, when returned, gave him the energy to work harder.

He was not required to be cutesy or girly. Victoria never cared for a bubbly disposition because customers seeked different things. But it was hard to be mad when there was so much pink around him. The only requirement was to wear all pink which, in all honesty, was not the worst colour. He’d received many compliments while wearing the colour. After a while, he grew to enjoy it.

“You look beautiful, as usual,” Taewoo-oppa coos with a smile. He's one of Taeyong’s regulars, a neurobiological researcher at the neighbourhood university, which just so happened to have the third best neurobiology research facility in the world. In short, he was smart, very smart, and told Taeyong more than he'd ever care to learn about fruit fly brains, mice brains, and human brains.

“Thank you," Taeyong grins brightly, accepting the compliment. It was something the normal Taeyong would never do. “What would you like to have?”

“I'll have the tonkatsu set with the grapefruit juice.”

“Will that be all?”

“Yep! Thank you.”

Taeyong beams. “Right away!”

He twists around on his heels, and almost runs into someone.

He inclines his head in apology, and that’s when he sees the standard green slacks of his school’s uniform. This better not be someone he knows. Trying to hide his surprise, he takes a step back and hesitantly looks up to meet the gaze of none other than Jung Jaehyun. When he sees the flash of recognition echoed in Jung’s eyes, Taeyong’s stomach falls.

Just his fucking luck.


	2. 02

Jaehyun nearly takes a step back.

He sees the shock in Taeyong’s pink eyes and realizes he’s been staring. He turns around quickly and clears his throat. He should leave, turn away from Taeyong, the restaurant, and pretend he didn’t see anything. But he doesn’t. All he does is stay rooted to the spot like an idiot, wondering what got him there in the first place.

It started off like this:

He’s heard a few rumours around the class, murmurs that a student was discovered to be working at a questionable establishment, and as the class president and a member of the student council he decides to investigate on the matter. What he doesn’t expect is for the student to be Taeyong.

Lee Taeyong.

The same Taeyong whom he shared classes with since the beginning of the semester, weeks ago. The same Taeyong who sits in the back of the class, head ducked and halfway to dreamland. The same Taeyong who somehow manages to pull ahead of the lower half of the class scores, sitting comfortably in the middle with his average marks, despite not paying attention. The same Taeyong who drags his feet during PE, but sinks a couple free throws when his team loses by a few points at the very end.

The same Taeyong who stood up for a female classmate who accused a teacher for groping her in class. The teacher eventually left for another school, not because of the accusation, but because his contract was over. But the classmate immediately switched schools, the bullying and gossip too much for her. It left Taeyong to deal with the jeering from some students, and the rare but supportive smiles from those whose learned helplessness prevented them from joining the conversation.

That had been last semester, and Jaehyun’s stomach sinks a little when he realizes why Taeyong, the one who never paid attention in class or had any friends, suddenly spoke up in support of the girl. It probably changes a man’s perspective after he works with females, with the appearance of a female.

Jaehyun feels a pang of guilt. Everyone knew that the teacher was handsy. But he was an older teachers, a fact that for some reason demanded more respect (and more turning of blind eyes); it was how things worked in Korea.

If it wasn’t for that incident, Taeyong would only be another face in school. A handsome face, a nosy voice in his mind reminds him, to his annoyance. Fine. So what if Jaehyun had known for a shallow reason? They shared most of their classes, but they never really talked. Taeyong kept to himself, with only a handful of students that he associated with on a regular basis. He was a pariah through and through.

But Taeyong isn’t a pariah here.

He’s… a waiter.

 _A very_ _cute waiter_ , his mind echoes

In a pink dress.

_A very pink dress._

In fact, he’s pink everywhere. Well, except for the red bow on his… wig.

Jaehyun’s brain short-circuits when Taeyong’s glossy lips pull into a hesitant smile. “Welcome to Pink Café. Is it a table for one, oppa?”

Jaehyun physically recoils this time. He definitely did not expect that-

He nods stiffly, following the tall stature of Taeyong to one of the seats at the back of the restaurant where he’s seated and presented with a pink leather-bounded menu on pink paper. He doesn’t dare meet the inquisitive pink eyes, but catches himself staring at the bounce of skirt as Taeyong turns away and blushes even harder.

_Christ, Jaehyun. Get your shit together!_

With steadying breaths, he scans the menu and decides on a combo with a cup of coffee and a slice of cake. Then he chances a look around the café, careful to not seem like he’s scoping or appearing too suspicious.

It’s not against school rules to have a part time job. And, as far as Jaehyun can see, there is nothing sketchy or unwelcoming about this work environment. Everything is clean and in good order. The servers do not look like they were forced to serve food and drinks, and the customers are surprisingly respectful, and genuinely content.

“Good afternoon oppa,” Jaehyun looks up to see Taeyong staring at him. It’s hard to tell how he feels because the pink contact lens are in the way, but he looks composed and... happy. “I’m going to be yours for today! My name is Ruby. What’s yours?”

“Um, Jaehyun. My name is Jung Jaehyun.”

“Do you mind if I called you Jaehyun-oppa? Or is there something else you prefer?”

“Jaehyun-oppa is fine.”

Tae- no- Ruby nods, her pink hair bounces in curls. "Oppa, have you had a chance to look at the menu yet?"

"Yes, actually. I-"  
"Would you like to-"

They pause in unison, then Ruby smiles and bows slightly. "Ah. Sorry for interrupting, Jaehyun-oppa. What would you like to have?"

"You didn't interrupt," Jaehyun says, smiling crookedly. "I'll have a drip coffee and a slice of today's cake."

"Mhm. That’ll be the peach jelly cream cheese cake. Is that okay?”

“Yes, thank you.” Ruby turns to leave when he suddenly calls out. “Ruby- Taeyong. You’re Taeyong, aren’t you?”

Ruby slowly turns back, and Jaehyun immediately stiffens from the cool smile and the even cooler eyes. “Oppa, you’ve got the wrong person. My name is Ruby.” She inclines her head again, turning on her heels and striding to the back. Her back is straight, and her steps are crisp and huffy.

Jaehyun watches the retreating back with confusion. Did he say something wrong?

“Oppa, here is your water,” chimes in a lighter voice.

Jaehyun looks up to see a short girl, much smaller than Taeyong, stare at him with pink eyes and an expectant smile. “Ah, thank you.”

“My name is Elizabeth. I’ll be yours today!” Elizabeth does a little spin and shoots finger hearts at him. Jaehyun scratches the back of his head. “Is this is your first time at our Pink Cafe?”

“Hi Elizabeth. Yes, it is.”

“Oh, then welcome! We hope you enjoy your stay here.” Elizabeth flashes a sweet smile. “Please let me know if you need anything!”

Jaehyun laughs nervously. “Thank you. Will you also be my server?”

Elizabeth nods her head enthusiastically. Jaehyun imagines that if this were a manga, her background would be exploding with beams of pink sunshine and pink petals. “All of the maids are here to help you, unless you specify otherwise. We’re very accommodating here!”

“I see." Jaehyun clears his throat. "Um. That’s all for now then. Thank you.”

“No problem, Jaehyun-oppa.” With one more cheery grin, Elizabeth curtsies and excuses herself. Jaehyun stares at the space she occupied for a second longer before snapping back to his senses.

_This is different. But it’s not bad._

Jaehyun leans back in the pink plush chair, running a finger along the edge of his phone and lost in his thoughts. The first question that comes to mind is why? Why is Taeyong doing this?

He looks around again, marvelling at the amount of pink in the store. Hell, even the air smells faintly of pink. He didn’t know he could _smell_ colours. And the wigs, lens, dresses and makeup. Did Taeyong do this for the money? Dressing up as a girl? Speaking demurely, cutely, energetically? The customers are mostly men too (Jaehyun’s caught staring at two girls at the other corner of the cafe, and quickly averts his eyes). What if something bad happened? Would Taeyong be able to defend himself?

But what if he likes doing this?

Jaehyun reins his thoughts back. This is fine. This isn’t 1950’s. He is open-minded and respectful. Taeyong can like whatever he likes.

He’s so wound up in his thoughts that he didn’t realize Elizabeth had already brought him the coffee and cake, and was waving a hand in front of him to catch his attention.

“Oh! Sorry.”

Ruby stands behind her, biting back a smile. Jaehyun feels a mix of irritation and embarrassment rush through his veins, and attempts some kind of composure with a sharp clearing of his throat. Elizabeth giggles behind her hand. “Jaehyun-oppa. We need to make this food as delicious as possible, and we need your help! So we’re going to teach you a chant, and you have to repeat it with us. Is that okay?”

Jaehyun stares at the maids warily, not really knowing what was going on. “Sure, I guess.”

“Great! It’s really easy. Here goes: Lovely, lovely pink!” Both Elizabeth and Ruby draw hearts with their fingers.

“Lovely, lovely pink,” Jaehyun copies the motions, slow and dumbfounded.

“Happiness in a blink!” They finger-gun the slice of cake.

“Happiness in a blink.” Jaehyun finger-guns the cake as well.

Elizabeth and Ruby clap their hands in encouragement. “That’s it! You got it!”

“Ahaha...ha. Thanks.”

“Now we have to say this together! Are you ready?”

“Uh.” Jaehyun looks a little helplessly at Ruby, but she smiles back with an intensity that is more intimidating than friendly, and decides to keep his comments to himself. “Yes. Okay, I’m ready.”

“Lovely, lovely pink! Happiness in a blink!” they chant. And when they finish, Elizabeth and Ruby light up sparklers, and Jaehyun jumps in surprise. “What the-”

The sparkler sizzles as little flames incinerate and pop off the stick. There are real sparkles. They are also, somehow, burning pink. Jaehyun is past finding anything surprising anymore at this point.

“Since it’s your first time here, we wanted to make it extra special for you!” Elizabeth waves a pink polaroid camera around. “Can I take a picture of you?”

“I. Well, sure. Why not.”

“Great! This is what we’re going to do. You sit here, and Ruby, please come on this side… perfect!” She positions Ruby to crouch beside Jaehyun, pressing their faces close to each other and the slice of pink cake (this is no longer eyebrow-raising, everything in this cafe is pink).

Ruby blinks back her surprise. “What about you, Elizabeth?”

“Someone has to take the picture!” Elizabeth winks animatedly. “Ready?”

Jaehyun nods his head nervously. He attempts a casual smile, internally wincing at how awkward he knows he looks. The shutter clicks, and Ruby moves away quickly.

"Just wait, Jaehyun-oppa. It's going to be such a cute picture of you two!" Elizabeth exclaims, handing the developing film to Jaehyun. He returns with a wobbly smile.

"Thank you."

"Please enjoy your cake!"

"I will," Jaehyun says, smiling weakly.

Before Ruby leaves, Jaehyun catches the a flash of daggers, spelled out in thick yellow and black warning tape in her eyes. He quickly looks away, feeling sweat trickle down his back from the intensity. _W-was that killer intent? And why does he feel like apologizing?_

He’s left to his devices after that.

The cake is delicious; nothing like he’s tasted before. The textures and flavour grow on him quickly. Elizabeth sees his reaction and giggles, striking up a bubbly conversation of how the cake was made, and that the recipe was actually inspired a Japanese no-bake cheesecake recipe. He makes a sound of acknowledgment, working his way through the cake. All the while, Ruby is nowhere to be seen.

"That was delicious." He smiles, setting the fork down the empty plate. “Thank you.”

“No problem!” Elizabeth waves a two fingered salute, and goes back to the kitchen.

Jaehyun has half a heart to tell Elizabeth to apologize to Ruby for him, even though he has no idea what upset the other. Was it because he came here? Has no other student come here before? Was that why Taeyong– no, Ruby glared at him? Because he encroached in her personal space? In retrospect, it must be weird to see someone from school at work. Not that he would know. He’s never worked a part time before.

With a soft sigh, he finishes the rest of his coffee and asks for the bill.

It isn’t until he's on his way out that he sees Ruby again. She is standing by the door, handing out 10% off discount cards. He takes a deep breath and gathers his courage.

“Hey."

Ruby turns to him with a slowness that spells mounting annoyance, which is contradicted by the polite smile and bow when she faces him completely. "Jaehyun-oppa, you're leaving now?"

Jaehyun nods slowly. "Do you have some time to talk?"

"I would love to but I have to work," Ruby inclines her head. "You're welcome to come back though! Here is a 10% coupon for you."

Surprised, Jaehyun takes the coupon and looks back into the pink eyes of Lee Taeyong. That’s just it. He can’t not see Taeyong in Ruby. The way he chews his lip to bite back a smile, the way he talks animatedly because that’s just who he is, the way he laughs sarcastically at a joke, softly at a shared story, loudly with abandon, and most of all, genuinely.

"It isn't about this. I just want to. I came because. Um. Just listen to me."

Taeyong's polite smile freezes into something rigid and fearsome. On his mother, Jaehyun knows he's going to get his ass whooped, or at least a verbal smackdown. On Taeyong… Jaehyun's balls immediately pop into his throat.

"Don't you have homework, Jaehyun-ssi?"

His tone is frosty, catching Jaehyun off-guard. "I- what?"

"Homework. Work assigned in class with deadlines. What about the paperwork a class president is responsible for? Or club activities, even." Ruby- no, it is definitely Taeyong now, the corners of his mouth quirking up with humourless sarcasm.

Overcoming the shock from Taeyong’s transformation, Jaehyun feels an anger bubbling in his chest from his rude dismissal. "Of course I have homework. We are in the same classes." He snips back, growing hot in the face.

Taeyong scoffs, crossing his arms across his chest. "Great. Don't let me hold you back." He turns on his heels but Jaehyun quickly blocks him from getting inside.

"What the hell. Just give me five minutes."

Taeyong narrows his eyes and crosses his arms, shooting Jaehyun with his most condescending glare. "Go away."

Jaehyun shake his head. "Two minutes."

Taeyong tries to walk around, but Jaehyun closes the distance with each step. It’s almost like a dance of its own. A sound of irritation rips from Taeyong's throat. He glares at Jaehyun. "Move, asshole.”

Jaehyun shakes his head. "Just give me one fucking minute." Unthinkingly, his hands reach up like he wants to hold Taeyong still from trying to escape. But Taeyong flinches back, and Jaehyun realizes what he's doing and stops, letting his hands fall beside him.

Taeyong’s nostrils flare as his cheeks grow pink from the anger. “That’s one too many. You’re wasting my time.”

"Look. As class president I have the duty to check up on my classmates–”

“Really. There isn’t thirty of you looking after every single student in our class, is there?”

“Funny you say that. No one else attracts trouble quite like you.” Jaehyun regrets the words as soon as he says them.

There is a pause, then Taeyong raises his head and narrows his eyes to deadly slits. “Oh? What is this trouble you're referring to? Did I get into fights? Did I have the lowest marks in the entire grade? Or was it because I talked back to the teacher?” Taeyong's voice drops dangerously. “Tell me. What kind of trouble have I gotten into that warrants this bullshit stalking behaviour."

The muscles in Jaehyun’s jaw clenches as he meets Taeyong's fuming gaze. "This isn’t stalking. There were rumours about a student working at a questionable establishment, so I came to check it out."

Taeyong crosses his arms. "Despite the fact that I’m doing this outside of school hours? Did it ever occur to you to just… ignore it?"

"Okay, I get that you’re pissed, though I’m not sure why. I was just trying to explain why I was here!”

Taeyong laughs, something low and sarcastic that sends a shiver down Jaehyun's spine. "You could’ve have just ignored the rumours,” he accuses. “Just admit it, you were probably looking to win brownie points with the teacher or something. Maybe this is some kind of community service. If anyone can spin anyway they wanted, it’d be you."

Jaehyun takes a step forward. "I never said that! Stop putting words in my mouth!"

“Yeah? Then lay this out for me!” Taeyong challenges, also taking a step forward. “Cos I’m not doing this during school hours. This is _completely legal._ So what are you really here for?"

"Jesus fuck! If you’d just let me finish you’d know.”

Taeyong bristles. “Oh so I’m at fault for interrupting you?”

“Yeah, maybe. I came because I heard some rumours. I came because I wanted to understand the situation. I wasn’t going to force someone out of a job, unless it _really was illegal_. But that wouldn’t be my decision to make. As a class president I felt responsible to make sure the students in my class are not misunderstood. This is _normal_. You’re making me sound like some kind of overbearing adult.”

He meets Taeyong’s eyes, who looks away after a long pause.

"Boo fucking hoo. It must be so hard for you."

Jaehyun bows his head, hand pressing against his temples as he lets out an explosive sigh. "Is it always this difficult to talk to you?"

"Trust me, you haven’t seen difficult yet.”

“And I don’t particularly want to.” Jaehyun quickly interjects. Deescalation. He doesn't want to make a scene here. He definitely doesn't want to upset Taeyong anymore. Especially not with him glaring like that. It makes Jaehyun think he'll die in a ditch or somewhere no one will find him for years and years. “I just wanted to apologize if me being here made you uncomfortable. You looked like you were going to skewer me and throw me into an open fire.”

“Well,” Taeyong smirks after a pause. “You’re not wrong.”

“Violent.”

“Nosy.”

“Insufferable.”

“Stalker.”

“Pink.”

“Rude!”

Jaehyun chuckles, scrunching his nose and unconsciously pulling his messenger bag strap tighter around his body. Taeyong regards him for a moment, before a small smile graces his pink lips. It’s gone in a flash, but Jaehyun caught it and his heart skips a beat anyway. Taeyong shakes his head gently, pink tresses bouncing around his soft face and clears his throat loudly.

“Is this all? I really need to go back to work.”

“I… yeah.”

Taeyong turns back to the cafe without so much as a word, and Jaehyun stares at her back for a moment, before turning away, shoving his hands in his pockets and heading to cram school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, hasn't it? Thank you to everyone who read, liked, subscribed, bookmarked, and commented on the first chapter. A lot of personal stuff has happened since then (please keep my grandfather in your thoughts), and my Markhei + Jaeyong repertoire has increased yet again! The former, kingdom come. The latter, senseless. Check them out if you'd like!
> 
> I'll do my best to update as often as possible. Personal business notwithstanding, I am actually quite excited about the stories I'll be posting in the near future. (Hint: there are maybe 20k words of -one- story that I've been re-working on forever. If you know, you know.)
> 
> As always, tread softly and take care,  
> Kei


	3. 03

For the first few days, Taeyong keeps his head down and slouches his shoulders, trying to make himself as small as possible. Sometimes he’ll feel Jaehyun’s eyes on him, gaze heavy like a weighted blanket. Taeyong doesn’t engage whatsoever. If he gets in trouble, he gets in trouble. But he’s also not going to look for trouble, and he’s going to fight tooth and nail to keep his part time job.

So with bated breath, he waits for the call to the school administration office.

But one day becomes two. Two becomes five. Before he knows it's been over a week, and he still goes to school, still goes to work like nothing's happened. So he starts getting suspicious. Maybe Jaehyun decided to stay out of his business. Maybe he hasn’t found the right time to bring it up.

It would be nice to know what goes on inside Jaehyun’s head, especially in moments like this (and also during exam time, if their difference in class rank is anything to go by). He spares a quick look at Jaehyun’s straight posture in the middle of the room.

Jaehyun has his back turned to from him, talking to two classmates. Taeyong vaguely remembers their names- Doyoung and Sicheng. They’re close friends; the two also participate in after school clubs or something. He rolls his eyes and wraps his arms closer around himself, sliding his eyes back on Jaehyun’s ram-rod posture. How he maintains it is beyond Taeyong, who is slumped across his desk, peering over a textbook that's propped up. Before he’s caught staring, Taeyong averts his eyes to out the window.

There’s no point in worrying what he has no control over, but Taeyong worries nonetheless.

He waits for the last bell to ring, then idly climbs to his feet. Usually he'd be out the door, but he has cleaning duty today. He looks around. There should be another classmate helping him with this, but they’re nowhere to be found. With a tired sigh, he ambles off to where they store brooms, mops and buckets, and gathers what he needs. On his way back, he passes by the bathroom (and more importantly, the hose), so he fills up the bucket, gathers everything else, and waddles back.

Cleaning is easy. It takes Taeyong’s mind off of infuriating things, like class presidents, for one. It’s also therapeutic. His brain can turn off for a few minutes while he concentrates on the task, which is not difficult. With the right cleaning products, any mark can be removed. Even if they are stubborn things like drawings on desks–

Taeyong blinks at the drawing, then squints and looks closer. The drawing isn’t great by any means, but there’s something about the hooded eyes and the squareness of the face that reminds him of Jaehyun. With an irritated sigh, he sprays some cleaning solution before scrubbing it off. Even his cleaning time is interrupted by the blasted nosy jerk.

“Hey you–”

Taeyong glares over his shoulder at the person who interrupted his thoughts. A teacher. Not one he’s taken classes with. What was his name again? Kim- no. Maybe Park-

“Is no one helping you with this?”

“He’s sick,” Taeyong lies smoothly. His workload may have doubled, but cleaning alone is easier than forcing conversation with a classmate he doesn’t care for.

“Is that so,” the teacher frowns, then stalks off after shooting him another scrutinizing look.

It shouldn’t spell trouble. He’s cleaning, and doing a damn good job of it. But for some reason, there’s a weird foreboding feeling settling in his stomach.

It materializes a moment later, when someone sticks their head in the back door of the classroom. Taeyong almost groans with irritation.

Unfazed, or perhaps ignorant of his emotions, Jaehyun looks at him. “I forgot Mingyu felt sick and went home this afternoon. Otherwise I would’ve assigned someone else to help you.” He picks up the broom and strides to the front of the room. “You haven’t cleaned this part yet, right?”

Taeyong stiffens, squaring his shoulders. “I don’t need your help.”

Jaehyun hums and starts cleaning like he hasn’t heard.

Taeyong wants to say something, anything to have Jaehyun leave him alone, but nothing comes to mind. Why did the teacher have to call him, of all people? The week had gone by so well without his interference. His scowl deepens.

He tries to cast aside his bias as he watches Jaehyun clean. Loathe as his is to admit, he’s not doing a bad job. Sure, his motions are unnecessarily big and fast, but he’s moving dust from A to B. He’s actually, well, helpful.

With an irritated sigh, Taeyong turns back to cleaning the stupid face off the stupid desk.

No other words were exchanged between them, and the classroom becomes clean and tidy in fifteen minutes. Taeyong’s even managed to remove the persistent marker stains on the white board with his handy pack of Lysol wipes. The room smells like cleaning solution, so he props the windows open and hangs the washcloths on the window ledge. When he turns around, he catches Jaehyun looking at him, then looking away quickly.

“Thanks, I guess,” Taeyong says.

“No problem.” Jaehyun grumbles, shuffling on his feet.

It’s curious, but Taeyong doesn’t ask.

"Let's put these away." He glances at the bucket by the front.

Jaehyun nods, gathering the broom and mop. Taeyong picks up the bucket, and props the door open. Jaehyun stares at him again, almost like he’s a particularly hard puzzle to solve. Taeyong looks away again, clearing his throat. _Is there something on his face?_

It breaks whatever train of thought Jaehyun was on, and with an awkward air hanging around them, they return the broom, mop and empty the bucket before going back to class to fetch their books and bags.

“Do you have work tonight?”

Taeyong slowly straightens. He turns to see Jaehyun looking straight ahead, but it doesn’t hide the pink on the tips of his ears. "What's it to you?"

“Just wondering."

Taeyong frowns. "About my work schedule.”

"Yes."

A pause.

"You're coming back again."

It wasn't a question. Jaehyun nods, finally looking over to meet his gaze. "Would it make you feel weird if I did?"

 _Uh, yeah. Duh_ , Taeyong replies in his head, complete with an internal eye roll. But all he does is narrowing his eyes, crossing his arms, and twisting his face into a bored expression. “Why?”

"Because." Jaehyun flusters now, and Taeyong's never seen this before. He normally embodies the Triple C's: Cool, Calm, Collected. This display of shyness is surprising.

“Because?”

“Just because!” Jaehyun looks away again.

“Ah. Do you miss us that much?”

Jaehyun sputters for a full minute. When he turns a heated glare at Taeyong, Taeyong laughs in his face. No wonder why Jaehyun didn’t report him. He wanted to come back.

"It’s not like there are any rules against you going back.” Taeyong shrugs nonchalantly. “You pay for your food, you don’t harassed the servers. There’s no reason you wouldn’t be allowed back.”

Jaehyun pins him with a withering look, like he’s being particularly daft. “I know. My question was if it would make you feel weird if I did.”

“Why would it matter how I feel, if you’re not doing anything illegal?”

“Because I don’t want to make you uncomfortable?”

“What?”

Jaehyun looks embarrassed. “Last time,” he starts, hands making vague gestures. “I don’t want what happened last time to happen again.”

He levels Jaehyun with a scrutinizing squint, watching the way his hands ball into fists. Then he turns away. "Of course it's weird. But I'm not going to stop you," he admits. "If I have something against how other people saw me at my job, I shouldn't be working there in the first place. But," his eyes narrow, "this is not an invite to call your buddies and throw a big jolly pink party at my cafe. I will castrate you if it happens."

He must’ve looked more intimidating than he realized, because Jaehyun blanches and squawks, "Wouldn't think of it. Swear on my mother's grave."

Taeyong scrunches his nose. "That’s a little excessive. Can’t you swear on your own grave instead?"

“‘Excessive’, when you threatened to castrate me?” Jaehyun counters.

Taeyong rolls his eyes. “I wouldn’t actually go through with it, idiot.”

“Not an idiot. I just,” Jaehyun deflates a little, “I just don’t want to upset you.”

Taeyong hums. “I see. So you’re scared of me.”

“I am not!”

“Yeah? Then why don’t you look at me?”

Jaehyun whips his face to meet Taeyong’s gaze, and any retort he has dies in his throat. They stare at each other for a long moment; it’s not quite a glare, but a mix of challenge and apprehension. Taeyong turns away first.

“Do what you want. I’m going now. Bye.” He collects his bag and makes a swift exit.

 

When Ruby greets Jaehyun at the door, she barely bats an eyelash. Actually, scratch that. She bats her eyelashes as she would any other customer, and her pink lips pull to a cute grin as she leads him in. Jaehyun’s heart skips a beat, screwing up the questions he’s been asking himself in the last week, which may or may not include one or more of the following:

  1. Why can’t he stop thinking about Ruby’s pink eyes and pink dress and pink smile?
  2. Why does he catch himself staring at Taeyong?
  3. Taeyong must be attractive or something. Like, objectively speaking. Because he hears people, often girls, talk about how his mix of brooding and indifferent scowl is cute and attractive, in a dark way. So why did it take him that long to realize it?



Yesterday, as he looked around the classroom, he saw Doyoung and Sicheng chatting about their latest physics assignment. His eyes narrowed. He’d heard from hushed gossiping that schoolmates found Doyoung and Sicheng incredibly handsome and crush-able. Doyoung was friendly and dependable, always wearing a kind smile, just like an older brother. Sicheng was quick-witted and hard-working, his slow-to-warm personality added to his charm.

But Jaehyun never found them attractive.

Which made a lot of sense. They were his _friends_.

Jaehyun surveyed the classroom again, checking face after face and came to a strange realization. Objectively, there were a few good-looking guys in his class. But he never found himself thinking about them, staring at them, imagining their smiles.

Not knowing what this, whatever this was, made him feel uncomfortable. He’s never been unsure about himself. So he swallows his discomfort and approach Taeyong. Maybe talking to him would help Jaehyun figure it out.

The opportunity presented itself, strangely like the stars have aligned, when Mr. Lim found him at the student union club room to notify him that someone had skipped cleaning duty. He belatedly remembered Seokmin tittering off that he had a musical practice to attend, and switched cleaning slots with Mingyu, who felt sick in the afternoon and went home at 5th period. His brain helpfully supplied that Taeyong’s part of today’s cleaning duty.

It was not the reason he almost trips over his foot rushing to the classroom, he told himself. He just wanted to make sure the work was fairly distributed. As a responsible class president. Yep.

One thing led to another, and by the time Taeyong gave him permission to return to the Pink Cafe, his heart was running a mile a minute, trying to make sense of their banter and why he felt so uncharacteristically flustered. Was it something in the food at lunch? _Or maybe it was Taeyong’s expressive eyes and mischievous smile,_ his brain suggests unhelpfully.

_It really isn’t._

With a wobbly smile, he follows Ruby to his designated table, who quickly ducks away when a customer waves at her. A minute later, Elizabeth greets him at his table, setting a menu in front of him.

“Jaehyun-oppa! You came back! Seeing you a second time makes me happy!” Her lips pull into an excited grin.

“Ahah, yeah. I got this coupon last time, and thought I should come back some time so that it’s not wasted,” he replies, pulling the coupon from his pocket.

Elizabeth takes the coupon. “Victoria will be happy to see proof of her ROI,” she giggles, then turns back to Jaehyun and tsks. “But you haven’t greeted me yet! Have you forgotten my name?”

Jaehyun takes a step back. “No… you’re Elizabeth.”

“That’s right! What about my partner in crime? That one back there!” She gestures to Ruby, who is in the back talking animatedly to another man as he plays the bill.

Jaehyun narrows his eyes. “She’s Ruby.”

“Oh,” Elizabeth says softly.

He blinks, turning back to see Elizabeth’s soft, overly-compassionate smile. His mother made the same look before, when she knows something he doesn’t. “What?”

“Nothing, nothing at all! Well, here’s the menu. Please let either myself or Ruby know when you want to order, or if you have any questions! We’d be delighted to help you!” She makes a shallow curtsey, flashes one more of those weird smiles and skips off. Jaehyun stares after the bounce of pink and white skirt.

What did he do this time?

Sighing, he gives up and turns back to the menu. He doesn’t have much of an appetite, even though he has to go to cram school in two hours, and will stay there for the rest of the evening. He scans the menu for something small, something that wouldn’t be too expensive, but nothing looks attractive. Feeling more frustrated than miserable, he flips to the back of the menu, then front, then through it again, and again.

“There are only four sides to this menu, no matter how many times you flip it, oppa.”

Sweat pours from his palms, the menu slipping and clattering on the table. Jaehyun looks up and sees Ruby- it’s definitely Ruby and not Taeyong talking right now- smiling at him.

“Here, this might help you think.” She sets down a glass of pink water in front of him.

He stares at the pink-tinted water, then up at Ruby, and back at the water, wondering if it's magical, like if he drank it he’ll be pitched into Wonderland or Narnia. He takes a small sip.

“Do you have any questions about the menu?”

"Um, no, I don’t think so."

Ruby’s smile falters. "Would you like a recommendation then?"

Jaehyun nods, and Ruby walks closer, taking the menu from his hand. Jaehyun tries not to think about how their fingers were centimetres apart.

"Pink forest?"

Jaehyun peers at where Ruby’s pink nail points to, and scrunches his nose. Ruby giggles at his confusion.

"It’s black forest, but pink."

Jaehyun isn’t convinced. "I figured, but what's actually inside?"

"It's a black forest cake with strawberry-white chocolate shavings, and strawberries instead of cherries in the middle."

"...did you come up with that?" Jaehyun asks, dubious and kind of grossed out.

Ruby ignores his question. "Don't knock it till you try it."

Jaehyun shakes his head. "Sure. I'll get one of those then. And coffee.”

“Drip coffee?”

“Yeah.”

“Today’s special is a bean from Ethiopia. It has a strong chocolate hazelnut flavour, with hints of apricot.”

“Sounds good.”

"Jaehyun?"

"Hm?" He looks up and his eyes widen in surprise. The change is subtle, but Jaehyun feels it all the same. It's Taeyong now.

"If there's anything I can do to make your visit more comfortable, let me know, okay?"

Red floods Jaehyun's cheeks. He quickly ducks his head like a shallow bow, and doesn't dare look up until Taeyong leaves his peripheral. God. He needs to get himself together.

It takes all of five minutes, which is when a slice of cake and a cup of coffee settles in front of Jaehyun, so too does a pink-clad Taeyong, who stares at him with his unnerving pink eyes. Jaehyun convinces himself it’s not scary. He mostly succeeds.

“Here, try it.”

He moves the plate closer, picking up a pink fork and shooting Taeyong a suspicious look. “Aren’t you going to make me say the weird chant?”

Taeyong sniffs, crossing his arms. “It’s not weird. And not with that attitude, no.”

“But what if I wanted sparklers?”

“Eat your cake.”

“That’s not very customer-friendly.”

Taeyong raises a challenging brow. “Are you delaying because you’re too scared to try the cake?”

“I’ll eat it.” Jaehyun scrunches his nose. “Is this even allowed, harassing your customers?”

Taeyong shrugs a little, resting his head on a hands. “This is a conversation, something your pea-sized brain will have a hard time comprehending.” A short pause, then, “and yeah, when it gets slow.”

“Oh.”

Jaehyun doesn’t know what to say. He’s never been harassed before, but seeing how Taeyong responded, he’s likely experienced it. Now he feels bad for casually using the word. He frowns at the cake, then takes a little whiff. Taeyong snorts at his effort, deigning to comment.

“When you said there were no rules against me coming back, did that mean there were rules in the first place?”

“Of course, we need to protect ourselves.” Taeyong shuffles, smoothing his skirt and readjusting the bow around his neck. Jaehyun tries not to stare. “I guess I was too busy to go through the rules with you the first time you visited. But they’re all no-brainers. Don’t take pictures or videos of the maids. Don’t touch the maids, unless you’re asked to. Definitely don’t ask a maid for their number or personal information.”

The last point is gritted with a hard tone and a glare. Jaehyun blinks.

“I’m not going to ask anyone for their number, if that’s what you’re implying.”

“Good,” Taeyong quips, the look on his face spelling unconvinced.

Jaehyun doesn’t mention that as class president, he has access to Taeyong’s personal information in case of emergency. He’s never looked through any student’s file before, and he intends to keep it that way. To fill the silence, he eats another bite.

“How is it?”

It tastes like a mix of dark and white chocolate, with a hint of strawberries when he bites into a chunk of the fruit. Whatever Jaehyun was expecting, this was not it. From the look of Taeyong’s eyes, he seems to know exactly how Jaehyun feels, but lets him take his time with it.

“It’s not as bad as I thought,” he says finally, reaching for a second cut of the slice.

“I know,” Taeyong snips, a slow smile spreading across his face. Jaehyun snorts.

It’s one slice of cake, and a cup of coffee. Jaehyun would normally inhale those in a second, two if he pauses to breathe. But he takes his time now. It’s awkward when Taeyong stares at him while he eats, but he doesn’t know what to talk about.

“Is talking all you do with customers?”

“We play games too.”

“Games?” Jaehyun’s eyebrows furrow. “Computer games?”

Taeyong smirks. “Does this look like an internet cafe? Board games, card games, or simple games like Jenga.”

“Jenga?”

“It’s popular, and fun,” Taeyong explains with a shrug. “Not that I’d expect you to know what fun is.”

Jaehyun rolls his eyes, crossing his arms. “Let’s play it.”

Taeyong blinks. “Jenga?”

“Yeah.”

It comes in a pink box, with LOVE scribbled across the packaging. Even the blocks are in various shades of pink. Jaehyun doesn’t know why he’s even surprised anymore. Taeyong hums and stacks the blocks up, Jaehyun joining a moment later. Then he realizes the words written on the blocks.

“‘Shoot an air kiss to the person on your right.’” Jaehyun reads, blanching. “What is this.”

“Love Jenga,” Taeyong responds, bored. “You said you wanted to play.”

“I didn’t know these were going to be truth or dares!”

The corners of Taeyong’s mouth curl into a smirk. “We could play another game.”

Jaehyun straightens, ignoring the heat on his cheeks. “I’m not scared!”

“I never said you were.” Taeyong’s smirk widens to a grin. “We don’t need to follow the prompts, you know.”

“I’ll think up something if it’s lame,” Jaehyun continues in a low grumble.

Taeyong considers him for a moment, then shakes his head. “Sure, let’s go with that.” The tower is set, and he peers over the top row of white to meet Jaehyun’s gaze. “Do you want to go first?”

Jaehyun shrugs, already pushing out a pink tile. He reads it: “‘Draw another tile.’ Okay.” He places it on the top, and pushes another pink block. “‘When was your first kiss?’”

Taeyong’s eyes widen.

Jaehyun pulls a face. “Second grade. A girl in my class kissed me.”

“Did she like you?”

“I guess.” The tips of Jaehyun’s ears turn pink. “It’s been a while, I don’t remember the details now.”

Taeyong hums, lightly tapping on a block. It comes out easily. “‘Blow a kiss at the person to your right.’”

There is no person to his right, Jaehyun realizes. They meet eyes, and Jaehyun looks away quickly. “I guess we were supposed to play with a group of people.”

“Jaehyun-oppa?”

Jaehyun looks up at the slightly softened voice. Ruby grins and presses a kiss on the pads of her fingers, before blowing gently at Jaehyun while shooting a wink. Jaehyun turns bright red in milliseconds. He also sputters for a good minute, willing his heart rate to slow the hell down before he gets a heart attack, please and thank you.

Taeyong is still laughing when his heart finally calms, clutching onto his stomach for dear life. “You should’ve seen the look on your face!”

“Oh shut up,” snaps Jaehyun. He clears his throat and pulls another pink block out. “‘Swap an item of clothing with someone else.’” He looks up to see Taeyong eyeing curiously at his own french maid outfit. Then a hand reaches around his neck.

“I could–”

Jaehyun jumps to his feet. “No. Definitely not!”

“–give you this bow for your tie,” Taeyong finishes, smirking. “What were you thinking, class president?”

Jaehyun glares at him for a hot second, then pulls his tie loose without another word. Taeyong hands over his big red bow, and receives the tie in exchange. The bow has a clasp in the front, so Jaehyun has no trouble putting it on. He glances over to watch Taeyong fulfill his end of the dare.

The skinny green tie sets a stark contrast with the rest of the outfit when tied haphazardly around Taeyong’s neck. Jaehyun ducks his head, trying to erase from his memory how Taeyong twirls his tie around his hand and wrist as he pulls out his next block.

“‘Share the most romantic date you’ve ever been on,’” Taeyong pauses, and Jaehyun unconsciously leans away a little. “I’ve never been on a date before.” The block is placed on the top of the tower.

Jaehyun’s eyes widen. “That’s a lie.”

“Says who? I’d like to think that I know my romantic life better than you do.”

Jaehyun frowns. “Fine, since that was a lame answer, then answer this: What would be your ideal date?”

Taeyong opens his mouth, closes it, then scrunches his face into a thoughtful expression. It’s cute, and Jaehyun looks away to keep himself from staring.

“I guess,” Taeyong starts after a long pause, “it would be nice to start with coffee, then we could do something we both enjoy doing, and end with dinner and a walk home.”

“That’s it?”

“I guess I’m not a very romantic person,” Taeyong shrugs, eyes drifting. “Or very creative. I don’t daydream about perfect dates.”

Jaehyun doesn’t know what to say, because anything that comes out of his mouth would sound presumptuous, and that’s the last thing he needs, getting into another verbal fight with Taeyong. He sniffs uncomfortably, and wiggles a white block out. “‘Kiss the person on your left.’”

They pause for a moment, then Jaehyun hurriedly shoves the block back into its previous place.

“It didn’t say where,” a new voice adds.

Jaehyun looks up to see Elizabeth’s cheshire grin beaming positively back at him. He’s never seen someone look more menacing, and he has a good foot and a half in height over her.

“Eli, what are you doing?” Ruby hisses in a hushed tone.

“It’s just a game, isn’t it? So just kiss anywhere you like,” Elizabeth says, grin widening.

“The game is over, Eli. C’mon, let’s go.”

“But shouldn’t Jaehyun-oppa finish this round anyway? It’s just one kiss.”

The block slips from Jaehyun’s hand and topples the tower, but no one pays attention to the scattered pieces on the table and floor. Jaehyun feels his heart hammer in his chest as he hesitantly glances over at Taeyong. Her cheeks are tinged with pink, and without the bow, she fits every bit with the rest of the cafe.

His eyes draw over her pink hair, across her nose, down her mouth– his heart stammers a beat– and down her pink, frilly uniform, pale pink stockings, and pink platform shoes. With a gulp, he glances back up, and sees one hand, and reaches out.

“Is this okay?” He asks before contact.

Taeyong ducks his head, and makes a soft sound of acknowledgment.

Jaehyun collects the hand in his, and presses a chaste kiss on the soft skin the back of Taeyong’s hand. He lets go after a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a lot of fun to write ;) What did you think of the ending?
> 
> To those who've read, left kudos and comments, subscribed and bookmarked this fic, thank you so much <3 It was a long wait, and I really appreciate your patience. I'm trying to work out a system where I finish my stories in a timely manner, but real life got in the way, as it often does. I'm hoping that after this Christmas, the dust will settle and I can get back on track! Meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed this chapter <3


	4. 04

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to [smokescreens](https://archiveofourown.org/users/smokescreens/pseuds/smokescreens) for reading this over for me ♡ And this chapter is dedicated to my soulmate [ephe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ephers/pseuds/ephers) :)
> 
> I've also received a lovely fanart from jay ♡ Just looking at it gives me all the power to write more ^u^ Thank you so much!!

“Do you need help with that?”

“Hey, you dropped this.”

“The formula isn’t correct here.”

“Do you want my melon?”

Taeyong glares up at the class president, who looks at him with something like puppy adoration in his eyes. He didn’t realize that taking one kiss on the back of his hand equated to adopting a dog. But then again, most people wouldn’t make that connection, unless they were the socially stunted Jung Jaehyun.

Ever since that day, Jaehyun had been hovering around him, be it at school or work, constantly talking. He thought Jaehyun was trying to ease the awkwardness between them so he can keep visiting the cafe, and half-ignored, half-entertained him. But it’s been a week of this, and whatever awkwardness Taeyong felt gave way to the sheer annoyance he has for the other boy.

It got even worse when the entire student body picked up on it. They would look at them with poorly hidden judgmental eyes and it made Taeyong shrink back further into his shell. He didn’t ask to be under this scrutiny. He didn’t want anyone to look at him. Why did Jaehyun have to do this– whatever this was??

“What?” He growls.

Jaehyun sits across from him on the bench, his lunch tray clattering loudly as the soup threatens to slosh out of the shallow bowl. His grin is so wide that even his _dimples_ are showing. Taeyong feels a quickly-familiar irritation building from the pit of his stomach.

“My slice of melon,” he says conversationally, gesturing to the piece of green fruit on his tray. It’s the lunch ‘dessert’. Most people would hog theirs, not give it away. But not Jaehyun.

Taeyong frowns. “Don’t you want it?”

Jaehyun shakes his head. “I offered for a reason.”

“Are you allergic?”

“No, I just don’t want to eat it.”

“In that case,” a new voice cuts in, and a pair of chopsticks shoots from behind him. It stabs into the melon, picking it up easily before slotting it in between two rows of pearly whites. Sicheng munches on the slice of melon with relish as he takes the seat beside Jaehyun, while Doyoung settles on Jaehyun’s other side.

“That wasn’t for you! Give it back!” Jaehyun hollers. He wrestles with Sicheng for a brief second, but the rest of the melon disappears into Sicheng’s mouth. So instead he goes after his fruit, but Sicheng smacks his hand away.

“You said you didn’t want to eat it,” Sicheng smirks, digging his spoon into the rice.

“Guys,” Doyoung warns. “I’m trying to eat here.”

_Those were my words,_ Taeyong thinks grumpily. Since when did lunch time mean time to socialize? He can feel a vein popping out on his forehead, and a mild twitch developing under his right eye.

“Is there something wrong with your eye?” Jaehyun asks curiously.

“No.” He grits out, head still ducked as his hands curl into fists under the table. Patience is a virtue, Taeyong. Patience is a virtue. What he does with any amount of virtue is beyond him, but the phrase does calm his rising blood pressure.

“Oh. Then are you gonna eat?”

Jaehyun’s question shakes Taeyong out of his thoughts. With a sigh, Taeyong picks up his chopsticks. “Don’t think about taking my melon,” he warns.

Sicheng bites back a guffaw into his lunch and almost chokes. Jaehyun shoots him a glare, weak with no resolve, and also begins to eat. Doyoung ignores them and shoves a spoonful of rice and side dishes into his mouth. Taeyong feels Jaehyun’s thoughtful stare on his hands and face, and ignores him harder.

“Wanna go to the snack shop after school?” Jaehyun asks Taeyong after a long pause.

“Dude, we’re still eating lunch. Isn’t it too early to talk about snacks after school?” Sicheng asks.

Jaehyun shrugs. “I wasn’t asking you. And I’m still growing.”

A scoff. “Yeah, sideways.”

Taeyong quickly interjects, “I’m busy.”

“But you’re not w– I mean,” Jaehyun switches quickly, “What are you busy with?”

Taeyong shoots him an incredulous look. “Do I need to report my schedule to you every single day?”

“No, I was just making conversation!” Jaehyun insists, frowning.

“Uh huh,” Taeyong replies, unconvinced. “Well, I’m still busy.”

Jaehyun stares at him for a long moment, then huffs and ducks his head and eats his lunch like he’s annoyed and put off. Sicheng and Doyoung meet eyes above him, shrug, and go back to their food. Taeyong rolls his eyes and speeds up his eating. His stomach is going to hurt later, but it beats being sandwiched by some of the smartest and most socially awkward people in his year.

“Did you guys start on the English homework yet?” Doyoung asks.

“Yeah,” Sicheng replies.

“Somewhat,” mutters Taeyong.

“No,” Jaehyun says into his soup. Three pairs of eyes blink at him, and he shrugs stiffly. “Cram school homework and club duties have been keeping me busy. I’m planning to get started on that tonight. How many words are you in?”

“A thousand or so?” Sicheng thinks, going back to poking his spicy stir-fried pork.

“About the same for me,” Doyoung adds.

“Done eating,” Taeyong interjects suddenly. He stands up, folds the chair in, and picks his tray up. “Enjoy your meal.”

Jaehyun opens his mouth to say something, but no sound comes out. Taeyong rinses and stacks the tray in a pile, then he shoves his hands in his pockets and stalks off.

Jaehyun only looks away from the cafeteria doors when he feels Doyoung’s round, sharp gaze. He clears his throat. “It’s not like that.”

“That is exactly like that dude,” Sicheng says, finishing the last morsel of rice before putting his chopsticks down and patting his stomach with a satisfied look in his eyes. “You’re in so deep.”

“I’m not deep in anything,” complains Jaehyun. Doyoung raises one meaningful eyebrow. Jaehyun stammers and blushes ten shades of red. “What?”

“I beg to differ,” Sicheng says teasingly, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile.

“There’s nothing going on between us!”

“You never spoke to Taeyong. I wasn’t even sure you knew he existed last month,” Doyoung points out, neatly picking up the slice of melon with his chopsticks.

Jaehyun shrugs. “We met and we talked. He’s not a bad guy. I just thought he looked lonely sometimes so I started talking to him some more.”

“Bullshit.”

“I’m not lying.” Jaehyun rolls his eyes, “I’m just trying to make friends.”

Doyoung and Sicheng look at each other for a pause, then Doyoung says, “Twenty. For two weeks.”

Sicheng tsks, waving his chopsticks around. “One month.”

They shake hands, sealing the deal. Jaehyun stares at them in mild disbelief (and mild annoyance).

“Did you guys just bet on my love life?”

•••

Jaehyun is not an idiot. He knows he finds Taeyong attractive. He also knows it’s not the reason why he suddenly wants to befriend the other. Yes, Taeyong has his life outside of school, a life Jaehyun accidentally stumbled upon and discovered, much to his secret delight. It is the same life that changes the way Jaehyun feels about Taeyong.

He isn’t the quiet brooding kid in class. He works hard, he enjoys his time as a maid at the cafe. He sings and dances and smiles (very prettily, his mind adds). He empathizes with those underrepresented and marginalized by the rigid structures of society. He is, in his own way, a really nice person. There is so much to him that Jaehyun doesn’t know, and wants to learn more about.

And there is this pull that he feels, unexplainable but undeniably _there_.

Jaehyun doesn’t think he likes Taeyong, not in the way he crushed on others in the past, but in the way that he can’t help himself. It’s platonic. The blushing and stuttering only happened because he was caught off-guard by the different sides to Taeyong. Or that’s what he tells himself, because until he has conclusive data that he’s head over heels, he’s not going to explore that idea.

...anyway, back to the point.

Which is that he wants to be Taeyong’s friend. For the above reasons, and because Taeyong looks so alone when he eats lunch, studies in the library, and solves algebra problems on the bench in front of the baseball diamond.

Had he mentioned that he feels a pull towards Taeyong? Yeah? Well, the pull doubles. Or triples. He’s not sure. But it makes him leave his class president or club duties, trotting to where the quiet boy is, and attempt to strike up a conversation.

He knows he sounds overbearing. But he doesn’t know what else to say.

And Taeyong, he seems to accept the conversations without much question, even though he looks a little surprised or miffed at Jaehyun’s chatter.

Just by sharing the same space, in such close proximity, brings a smile to Jaehyun’s face.

He wonders, very briefly in a fairytale-like moment, if this is what having a soulmate feels like.

(The idea is quickly squandered and scoffed at because, please, there are no such things as soulmates, no matter how much some of the classmates giggle and whisper at their horoscopes of the month. It’s all make believe. But still, in the moments of lull, he dips his metaphoric toes in the idea, and daydreams.)

•••

Taeyong rubs his temples, inhaling deeply. He pulled an all-nighter to study for this morning’s exam, and he still has work in the afternoon. He knows he can call in sick, but he doesn’t want to leave Elizabeth and Victoria on their own. They’ve been looking for a cook ever since the last one handed in her resignation two weeks ago. Victoria became the stand-in cook for a while, but she’s spreading herself thin when the cafe got busy.

It wouldn’t do for morale if he called in sick today.

It’s only been two days of this, since it’s exam period this time of the year. He should be able to handle having less sleep, but it’s wearing him out anyway.

“Are you okay? You look kinda tired.”

Taeyong doesn’t need to open his eyes to recognize that deep voice anywhere. The hairs on his back stand up immediately, like his fight or flight instinct was triggered. He sighs, trying to calm his nerves. “I know I look like shit. You don’t need to point it out for me.”

He can hear Jaehyun scrunching his nose up all cute and shit. _Wait–_  “Geez, what stick do you have up your ass this time?”

_Slip of tongue. Not cute. Not cute at all._ “Not yours, even if there is one up there.”

“I-it’s a saying!” Comes the stuttering reply. It makes Taeyong smile on the inside. He cracks an eye and looks at Jaehyun, whose pulled a chair up to his desk in the library. It’s study period, and he should really get some more studying done before tomorrow’s Chemistry and English exams, but he can’t bring himself to calculate another equilibrium constant for a chemical reaction. At least it’s essay-writing for English. He will brush up on his grammar during lunch before the exam.

“Do you need something? Water? Pain killer?” Jaehyun keeps pestering.

Taeyong peels his other eye open to glare at the other. “Do you regularly carry pain killer with you?”

“No, but the school nurse must have some.”

“It’s fine.”

“You don’t look fine. And you still have work tonight.”

Taeyong squeezes his eyes shut and buries his face in his hands. “I said it’s fine. Leave me alone.”

Jaehyun screws his face up in a scowl. “What are you being so rude for? I’m just watching out for your well-being!”

“I- fuck. Seriously, you would do me the biggest favour by leaving me the fuck alone, okay? Thanks.”

“We’ll see if I care about you ever again!”

“That’s exactly what I need, for the rest of my life. Bye.”

A low hiss rips from Jaehyun’s throat, and Taeyong hears angry stomping out of the library with grim satisfaction. One less annoyance to deal with. Good.

 

Except that wasn’t the end to Jaehyun, who shows up at his locker at the end of the day, blushing so hard the tips of his ears go red, eyes downcast and looking like he’d rather be anywhere else but here. Taeyong doesn’t think he can handle anymore of this idiot.

“What.”

“I’m sorry for yelling at you earlier,” comes the low mumble of a reply.

The classmates push and shove around them, so Taeyong pulls back into the classroom, tugging Jaehyun along, who almost stumbles on his feet from the unexpected hand on his arm. “Whoa–”

“No one is aware of and respecting personal space these days,” Taeyong grumbles, glaring at the war zone on the other side of the classroom door. “What were you going to say?”

He catches Jaehyun’s eye and for a moment, neither speak. They just stare at each other, like measuring the other up with tired, weary eyes. Taeyong didn’t realize how tired Jaehyun was, and wondered how much of that had to do with him being the class president, maintaining extracurricular responsibilities while also studying for exams. A muted punch of guilt pools in his stomach.

Jaehyun opens his mouth: “I’m sorry for yelling at you before. I’m also sorry for making the comment about how you looked. It’s exam season, you must be under a lot of stress. Especially since you have work and all.”

There it is, the apology that melts the tension from Taeyong’s thoroughly fried nerves. After a long pause, he sighs and shakes his head. “I shouldn’t have snapped at you either. I’m sorry too.”

Jaehyun tries for a smile. It looks all crooked with fatigue, but there’s still a dot of sparkle in them. “Do you need help studying? We have Chemistry and English tomorrow, right? We can study together.”

“I– well, I still have to go to work.”

“Oh, right.” Jaehyun pauses, frowning for a moment. Taeyong can almost see the cogs clicking in his brain. “I have cram school too. But we can meet up afterwards for a quick study session, right?”

“Like, at the library?”

“If that’s more convenient, sure.”

“The most convenient place to study is in my room.”

The words slip out of his mouth before he thinks, and he mentally slaps himself for it. Jaehyun quirks an eyebrow, like saying _Isn’t this a little forward?_ It’s an annoying expression that makes Taeyong stick with his words even more. Just because.

“You asked,” he says in a challenging tone.

“I guess I did,” Jaehyun grumbles. He scratches the back of his neck and looks at his phone. “What is your address?”

“You are not coming over to study.”

“Then we’ll meet up at the library?”

“There are no libraries near my place.”

“Then you can come over to my place. It’s close to the cafe.”

“That’s stupid. I’d rather study at home.”

“Then I’m coming over.”

“Why are we even studying together?” Taeyong glares at Jaehyun, who looks at him with open, honest eyes.

“Because it’s easier that way.”

Taeyong crosses his arms and scowls. “That’s stupid.”

“It’s not. Just. Just wait for me at the cafe, okay? You get off at 9 pm right?”

“How do you know my schedule…”

“Elizabeth told me,” Jaehyun says hurriedly. “Don’t leave before I get there. Promise me.”

“I will make no such promises– oi! Where are you going?”

But Jaehyun is out the door, a pink tint to his cheeks as he quickly escapes the conversation, and Taeyong.

_He probably has club activities to go to._ Taeyong thinks bitterly to himself. _Geez. Why would he insist to study together? Isn’t it proven that studying with others causes more distraction than productivity?_

With a huff, Taeyong goes to his locker to pack his books. Then drags his tired feet to the cafe. It’ll be a long day, but at least he has his customers to keep his mind from melting, and with luck, Victoria will let him leave early so he can get started on his studying. He shoves his hands into his pocket, and feels his cell phone there.

Studying together, huh?

What a stupid idea.

 

The day wraps up without too much trouble, but Taeyong is tired as all hell, so he makes himself a flat white. He considers an extra double-shot, but he does plan to sleep eventually. He glances at his phone on the counter, and takes a moment to wonder.

“Ruby?”

"Yes?"

"Best of luck on your exams tomorrow," Elizabeth says, wrapping her arms around Ruby's middle in a tight squeeze. "Get some rest, okay?"

"Thanks, Yeri."

Yeri, whose bubbly smile melts into something softer and kind (unlike her expressive, energetic persona of Elizabeth), pinches his cheek with affection. "This makes me feel like I'm older than you, like an older sister sending her dear brother off to the front lines."

"I'm writing exams, not going to war," Taeyong says, embarrassed. "You're the one who sounds like an old hag."

Yeri smirks. "Where's the respect for seniority in the industry?"

"I won't stand in your way if you want to claim seniority for being a maid server," Taeyong teases. "Respect, though, you'll need to be less like a shrimp before pulling that card on me."

"I'll show you shrimp!"

Despite her small stature, Yeri is strong. But Taeyong is stronger, and is a whole foot taller, giving him the advantage of slipping out of her headlock and flipping over to hold her arms behind her back.

"Ya! Lee Taeyong! Are you out of your mind? Let me go!"

"You attacked me first!" Taeyong smiles victoriously. "This is called self defence, Yeri-ah."

Their scuffle stops short when Victoria comes in from the front, bringing the sidewalk sign with her, a familiar face following close behind.

"Ah, youth. What a bottomless bout of energy and excitement," she drawls, amusement glinting in her eyes. "Ruby, someone's here for you."

Jaehyun eyes at him, down to Yeri then back up. He smiles all awkward, and gives a small wave.

"You actually came," Taeyong says, a little dumbfounded. His grip loosens a smidge, and Yeri breaks out with a triumphant _Hah!_ before wedging a pointy elbow into his rib and leaping away.

"Ow! God what the hell Ri."

"Self defence, you can hardly blame me!" She giggles, hiding behind Victoria.

"Coward," Taeyong hisses.

"Brute," Yeri growls back.

"Children," Victoria warns. "You are still in your uniforms. Have a little decorum."

"But it's past work hours!" Yeri whines. Still, she smooths the ceases from her skirt, patting down the pink with a small pout.

Jaehyun shuffles his weight from foot to foot, looking as out of place as he probably feels. "Figured I'd be reviewing with you anyway, so I left cram school a bit early."

A cheshire grin pulls at the corners of Yeri's lips. She leans against the counter and rests her cheek in the palm of her hand. "My, I didn't know you were a class president. Are you two in the same classes?"

"Some of them," Jaehyun answers truthfully.

"I'm going." Taeyong grits out, eyes narrowed and a little huffy.

"Wait up!" Jaehyun hastily turns back to Victoria and Elizabeth. "Have a good evening. Take care on your way home." He bows quickly, then darts out after a puff of pink and ruby red, easily catching up. Taeyong ignores him for all of two seconds, before spinning on his heel to glare at the other.

_I can’t believe–_ starts at the tip of his tongue, but when he meets Jaehyun’s eyes, the words disappear. He swallows thickly, then turns away again. Jaehyun immediately follows.

“Where are you going?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to study together?” Taeyong pauses, measuring the next words on the tip of his tongue. “I live this way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ♡ Happy Jaeyong Day ♡
> 
> Two updates in a month? Yes you read that right. I've been really bad with updating (in order to pay respects, because the passing of artists I've admired for so long *did* affect me)(along with another close family passing)(amongst other health issues that arose throughout the year)(tldr; 2019 was not a good year) so here's one last chapter before the year is over!
> 
> Thank you to all those who read and enjoyed this! Thank you for hitting the kudos button, for subscribing and bookmarking, and for leaving comments ♡ Hope you have a lovely winter holiday!


	5. 05

Exams come and go and with it, Taeyong’s anxiety crests and troughs. There were the usual customers over the weekend, which meant comfort and familiarity, and Victoria gave him the next week off to recuperate. When he asked if she found someone to take his shifts, she waved him off with a dismissive hand. The break coincides with his winter vacation, so he doesn’t try to argue with her.

An entire week of doing absolutely nothing. His mouth waters. Turning on his computer, he flexes his fingers and sinks his teeth into the latest Battlegrounds update. Ahh, it had been so long since the last time he tasted this sweet, sweet victory...

“Are you really not doing anything today?”

Taeyong briefly wonders if he should pause his game to glare at his sister. He doesn’t. “It’s 10 am. By all rights of a teenager in high school, I’m _not_ supposed to do shit.”

Sooyeon rolls her eyes. “But you’re _Korean_ , shouldn’t you be studying even in your time off?”

“I am Korean, therefore I game.” He shrugs, killing another player without missing a beat. “It’s not that difficult, sis.”

He can hear the exasperated eye-roll in her voice. “Whatever. Mom and I are going to head out now. There’s food in the fridge.”

Taeyong hums a vague reply and tunes back to his game.

“By the way, is that handsome boy coming over again?”

He internally heaves a big sigh, suppressing the stupid blush that threatens to creep on his cheeks. “What handsome boy?”

Sooyeon peeks into his room and narrows her clever eyes. “Don’t play dumb. Your anti-social ass hardly brings people back, let alone someone so handsome, and so late at night.”

Taeyong doesn’t have an answer to the question, so he changes tactics. “Aren’t you heading out? Don’t keep mom waiting.”

“Shit. Fine. But don’t think you’re off the hook!”

As he kills another player, Taeyong thinks to himself: if only.

•••

When he and Jaehyun stepped inside his home that evening, his mother was in the living room, laughing at something on the television. One glance over had her jumping to her feet. His sister was on the other side of the room, typing on her phone and ignoring the noise around her.

“Sorry I didn’t call earlier. I have a friend over,” says Taeyong, by way of introduction.

The phone slips from Sooyeon’s hands, and his mother looks like she's about to blow a vein.

“Who the hell are you?”

“I’m your son,” Taeyong replies, bored. “You’ve had suspicions after seeing this outfit in my closet, and yes, I know you were in my room. Surprise, I crossdress for my part time job. Before you blow a vein, I just want to say that Sooyeon helped me get the job.”

His mother turns to Sooyeon with wide, disbelieving eyes. “Sooyeon!”

Sooyeon scrambles to her feet, shooting Taeyong a death glare before turning back helplessly to soothe their mother’s temper. “Mother, oh god, I can explain–”

“What is there to–”

“I have to study for my _university entrance exams_ with the _class president_ now. Would appreciate if you kept it quiet. Thanks.”

“Lee Taeyong you asshole!”  
“Sooyeon! Language!”   
“Shit. Mom no please–”

Taeyong drags Jaehyun out of the living room before it gets really messy. With Jaehyun as the convenient shield and studying as an excuse, he should be left relatively alone. His sister will explain very cleanly if she wants to save her own hide, and his mother will probably come around after a day or five.

As they reach his room at the top of the stairs, he drops his bulging bag by the side of the door, and digs for the contacts case and solution from the bag.

(Jaehyun briefly looks over and unintentionally gets an eyeful of Taeyong’s long legs that disappear under a puff of pink frills. He whips his eyes away, nearly snapping his neck, and blushes bright red.)

“I need to change. You can start studying first if you want.” Taeyong looks around his small room like scrutinizing every surface. “I don’t have another chair but you can sit on my bed. And sorry for the mess.”

Jaehyun takes a quick glance around the room, not finding a mess anywhere, and wonders if Taeyong is referring to his mother and sister. He wants to ask, but Taeyong’s already gone to the bathroom with a small basket in one arm, a change of clothes on the other. Sighing, Jaehyun settles on Taeyong’s bed and pulls a workbook out. It’s the one he got from cram school, filled with questions from previous exams. He starts going over his notes.

Taeyong comes back a few minutes later, having changed into a large grey t-shirt with a loose neckline and soft-looking black sweatpants. He’s also wearing square, black metal-rimmed glasses, framing his wide, expressive eyes. His face is rid of the pink eyeshadow, blush and lipstick, and he’s no longer wearing the pink wig. In fact, there is not one trace of pink left on him.

Taeyong notices his squint and frowns. “What?”

Jaehyun sniffs. “You’re not pink anymore.”

Taeyong turns away to hang his maid costume. “Yes. That tends to happen when I take off the makeup and costume.”

“I sometimes forget how not-pink you can be.”

Taeyong meets Jaehyun’s eyes for a moment, then turns back to look at his costume, tilting his head, contemplative. “I guess it would be hard to unsee something like that.”

An awkward silence drifts between them.

“How did you start?”

Taeyong turns around to meet Jaehyun’s openly curious expression, not the judgmental one he expects. He shrugs, sliding on his rolling chair. “I was looking for a job. When my sister heard, she introduced me to her friend, who was hiring a part time. I didn’t really know what I was getting into, sort of, but I needed the money, so I decided to try it out.”

“Needing the money?” Jaehyun raises his eyebrows. “What for?”

“Not that I need to explain myself,” Taeyong continues testily, “but I wanted to pre-order some models before a deadline, which meant I had to pay up front before I get the product.”

“Model? Like, Gundam models?”

“Yeah,” Taeyong raises a brow, sarcastic. “Do you know about them?”

“Not really.” Jaehyun shrugs. “I sometimes overhear Sicheng and Minghao talking about it. They collect and build models.”

"Oh." Taeyong shifts. "Well, I've been working there for about four months now. Still can't get used to how uncomfortable heels can be. But everything else is pretty textbook."

Jaehyun ignores his pointed look that carries the sentiment: _There’s nothing suspicious, you nosy prat_. "Right.”

Taeyong shakes his head. “Anyway. Have you started studying for Chemistry yet?"

"Yeah, I’ve gone over my notes and cram school material a few times. What about you?"

“Sorta.”

“What do you mean, ‘sorta’?”

“Like, I’ve read over my notes once.”

Jaehyun’s face pulls into a wince. "Don't you care about your grades?"

Taeyong shrugs. “Not really.” When Jaehyun continues to staring, he sighs. “You do realize,” he pauses to collect the words, “that education, up until high school, is all about learning how to learn, right? So as long as you know how you learn, everything else is not all that important. At least, not for personal growth.”

Jaehyun blinks, and Taeyong continues:

“Sure, course work is important, but it’s never been _solely_ about the subject. Your grades reflect on how well you know a subject, which you do by learning. If applied to academics, then you’re graded based on how well you learn. Which means that one of the main reasons to school is to learn how to learn.”

Jaehyun considers this information. “So if someone were to apply themselves in something other than academics, they are learning how to learn… in their own field.”

“Basically.” Taeyong shrugs. “Marks are arbitrary numbers you’re given based on how well you learn and regurgitate information, but it’s not really important. What’s more important is that you know what to do when you’re given information. It’s all about personal growth. Because when university comes along, you'll only have how you learn to tackle those classes. And that's just the beginning."

“What if you don’t really know if you want to go into academics or, say, arts?” Jaehyun asks.

“Then,” Taeyong pauses, scratching the side of his neck. “I guess that’s why everyone encourages you to try new things when you’re young, see what you’d be interested in. But lots of people still don’t know what they want to do after high school, hell, after university even.”

Jaehyun narrows his eyes. “How do you know?”

Taeyong shrugs. “I know a few seniors who are in university, some have already graduated and are working or in grad school.”

“Who?”

“Victoria, for one.” Then Taeyong pauses, remembering why they were talking about this in the first place. “You won’t know these people anyway. We should get back to studying.”

Jaehyun scrunches his nose like he’s miffed, but obediently flips open his textbook. Taeyong peeks over. It’s dog-eared and marked with notes in the gutters of the page, not at all the neatness he’s associated with the class president. “What is your style of studying then?”

Taeyong wants to say that he’s never really cared to study hard, but bites it back. “I read the notes out loud, helps with memorization.”

“That’s it?”

“And write down complicated things that take muscle memory, I guess.” Taeyong shrugs. “What about you?”

“I try to memorize as much as I can, but sometimes I draw things out, copy it a few times over, shorten the information to syllables, close my eyes and picture the words in my head… all sorts of methods. It just depends on what I’m studying.”

Taeyong hums. “Okay. We’ll study on our own then?”

"Yep."

"Cool."

Five minutes later, Taeyong growls. "You didn't have to come over!"

Jaehyun pretends he didn't hear.

A while later, Taeyong peers over his textbook to the frown on Jaehyun's forehead, then looking down again. Then he looks up again.

"What?"

"...question."

Jaehyun pretends he didn’t hear, and asks louder, “What?”

“I said I have a question, and don’t pretend. You heard me the first time.” Taeyong glares, ducking his head to hide his cheeks. Jaehyun smiles.

“Fine, lay it on me.”

 

It's almost 11 pm when they take a break. Taeyong pulls back in surprise. He didn’t realize how quickly time passed.

It strangely easy to focus around Jaehyun. Sure, he’s distracted by just about everything Jaehyun does, from twirling a pencil between his long fingers to the way his bottom lip juts out as he concentrates. But Jaehyun’s presence is calming, even if his personality can be capricious. It beckons Taeyong out of his introverted shell, exercise his (unexpectedly deep well of) patience, and focus on his studies.

Stretching his arms above his head, he offers an energy drink, but Jaehyun responds by listing the properties harmful to health, with double underlined emphasis of it being stress and anxiety inducing. Taeyong rolls his eyes and stands to his feet, before darting down the stairs with light steps. Sooyeon is in her room now, but the television is still on, which means his mother is probably awake.

With careful steps, he sneaks into the kitchen. But his mother there already, hands clasped on the table, and a tray of snacks and healthy vitamin drinks in front of her. She looks at him with an unreadable expression, but doesn't say what's on her mind. Instead, she gestures to the food, and Taeyong takes the tray.

"Thanks," he says stiffly.

"Study hard."

"I will."

And that was that.

Jaehyun glances up as Taeyong kicks the door closed with his foot, surprised and curious. “What happened to the energy drink?”

“My mother,” Taeyong replies, settling the tray on his desk. “Help yourself.”

Jaehyun does. He forks two slices of apples into his mouth, chomping quickly before shoving in one more slice. Taeyong makes a disgusted face.

Jaehyun swallows before speaking. “What?”

“You inhaled three slices of apples in five seconds. That’s disgusting.”

“I was hungry.”

“Oh. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“It’s not like you’re responsible for feeding me.”

“True,” Taeyong sniffs. “But that makes me a terrible host, and I don’t want to be a terrible host.”

"Not terrible, just a bit inconsiderate,” corrects Jaehyun, smirking.

"Lovely." says Taeyong, narrowing his eyes. “Well, do you want anything else?"

Jaehyun glosses over the sticky rice cake, rice crackers, juice boxes and yogurt drinks, and shakes his head. "I'll be okay with this much," he says, tugging the entire tray toward him.

Taeyong crosses his arms. "How hungry are you?"

Jaehyun shrugs. "Studying takes a lot of energy. My brain needs to be fed to stay awake."

"'Stay awake'? When do you normally go to bed?"

"Well, 10 pm on weekdays," Jaehyun pauses, thinking. "Actually, 10 pm most days."

Catching sight of Taeyong's incredulous expression, he feels awkward and directs the same question at Taeyong.

"12 am? 1 am? It varies, but I haven't purposely slept at 10 pm in years."

Jaehyun wrinkles his nose, like he doesn't understand why someone would choose not to sleep. "What do you do with all that time?"

"I play games, read manga," Taeyong pops open a banana milk carton and takes a sip, "do stuff normal Korean students do."

Jaehyun grows silent. Taeyong looks over to see Jaehyun regarding him with calculative eyes. Then Jaehyun opens his mouth and asks:

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

Taeyong does a double-take. "A- huh?"

"A girlfriend. Do you have one?"

"That's none of your business."

Jaehyun harrumphs. "So you do."

Taeyong narrows his eyes. "I don't!"

Jaehyun pauses, thinking. "Boyfriend?"

Taeyong sputters. "I’m not seeing anyone! Plus what does this have to do with being in a relationship?"

"Then you're not doing things normal Korean students do!"

"Not all Korean high school students date! There’s so much more to life than spending time with another person."

Jaehyun looks unconvinced. "High school sweethearts are a thing."

Taeyong facepalms. "Yeah. A thing of cautionary tale. High school relationships are a terrible idea."

"How can you say that when you're not even in a relationship?" Jaehyun's eyes widen. "Unless you _were_ in a relationship."

Taeyong sighs. "You're giving this way too much thought. Anyone can tell you high school relationships are a terrible idea. You should know this, shouldn’t you?"

Silence meets his question.

"... right. There's no way I'm believing that you’ve never dated in high school, but in the event that you're not lying, see? You're not in a relationship and you're um, uh, a mostly normal guy. Dating is not a big deal."

Jaehyun mutters something unintelligible, and sniffs. "You avoided my question."

“What question?”

“You know what question.”

After a long pause, Taeyong rolls his eyes. "Fine. I’ve dated in the past. The kissing wasn’t great. I wasn’t feeling it, and neither was the person. It lasted a week.” As he finishes the sentence, his eyes meet Jaehyun’s and they stare at each other for a long time. Taeyong straightens his back, leaning on defensive. Jaehyun still looks unconvinced, but for a different reason.

“Sounds suspicious. When was that?”

“Two years ago. Is it so hard to believe I’ve dated someone?” Taeyong asks.

“I just, I never saw you talk to anyone,” says Jaehyun, uncomfortable.

“Most people don’t pay attention to these things,” says Taeyong, flippant. “Also, we never used to talk.”

Jaehyun ducks his head. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s nothing to apologize for.” Taeyong waves, turning back to the textbook. “Anyway, chemistry. How far along are you?”

Jaehyun frowns as he thumbs through the remaining pages. “Two more chapters. You?”

Taeyong grumbles. “One. But I still have some homework to go over.”

“Oh! I have some notes from cram school. They’re not a part of the syllabus, but I found them really helpful.” Jaehyun suddenly remembers. He digs into his pile of notes. “Want to take a look at them?”

“I’m not paying you for them,” warns Taeyong.

“I never asked.”

Taeyong doesn’t have a reply, so he wrinkles his nose and ducks his head into the notes, reading intently. Jaehyun smiles a little helplessly, staring at his ducked head for a while longer, before going back to his notes.

Another hour passes before Taeyong remembers that the trains will stop running in half an hour, and it takes about fifteen minutes to walk to the nearest station. Jaehyun shakes his head and says he can take a bus. According to kakaomap, there’s a bus stop five minutes away. Taeyong nods, clearing the table of the snack rubbish as Jaehyun packs and zips up his bag.

Taeyong stares at Jaehyun’s cram school homework on his desk. “Shit. I’m not done with your notes.”

Jaehyun shakes his head. “You can keep them.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I’m done with them.”

“Okay,” says Taeyong with a frown. “Thanks, then.”

Jaehyun opens his mouth, then closes it, shaking his head. “Thanks for letting me stay over. See you tomorrow.”

“Text me when you get home.”

Jaehyun twists back, eyes widen with surprise to see the same expression on Taeyong’s eyes, like he himself can’t believe what he just said. “Really?”

“Shit I didn’t mean. No I. Well,” Taeyong stammers. “I always tell Yeri to text me when she gets home, for safety. But you’ll be fine. It was reflexive. Forget I said anything!”

Jaehyun hovers at the doorstep. “I don’t have your number.”

“I’m not worried," Taeyong clarifies, pained and flustered. "You’ll be okay.”

“But what if I’m not? What if I get attacked and no one hears from me after this? What will happen to my chemistry grade? Who will take over my class president responsibilities?”

Taeyong rolls his eyes at Jaehyun’s dramatics, shoving his hands in his sweatpants pockets. “Are you really doing this?”

“Hurry up or I’ll miss my bus!” rushes Jaehyun.

Still, Taeyong hesitates. Then Jaehyun whines and stomps his feet like a petulant child, complaining that Taeyong is a meanie-face and doesn’t trust him at all. It’s loud and embarrassing and Taeyong wants it to stop. Immediately.

So, left with no choice, Taeyong passes his phone to Jaehyun and watches as he types in his number to create a new contact. He'll delete the number after. This doesn’t need to be permanent. The faster Jaehyun gets bored and over him, the better.

Jaehyun hands it back quickly, pulls his backpack straps tighter across his chest and grins.

“Have a good night!”

•••

Jaehyun had, of course, sneakily sent himself a message on Taeyong’s phone so he has Taeyong’s number. Taeyong feels like he’s been cheated, but it’s neither here nor there. Besides, apart from the one text Jaehyun sent to report his safety that night, he hasn’t said anything else.

Taeyong doesn’t know what to make of this, and ignores the new contact with conscious effort. (It mostly fails.) Jaehyun’s number is like a serial code seared onto Taeyong’s phone. He knows it’s all virtual data. Two clicks and it’ll be wiped clean. But he somehow can’t bring himself to delete it.

Plus, he’s been busy playing games and ignoring the fact that his mother is half ignoring him, half walking on eggshells around him while his sister glares daggers to his face, spelling a painful, drawn out death for the drag. The computer games are a good distraction. There have been worse days.

*Click click*

*Tap tap tap*

One more kill.

Ah– shit. Two hits. Where was that fucker.

C’mon. Run faster.

*Clickclickclickclickclick*

Did they just get killed? Fine. Time to change weapons. Painkiller. Bandage.

Alright. Three more to go.

Two.

Where is he? Where is he? Where… ah!

A spasm of clicks later, the screen darkens with an overlay indicating that the match has ended, and that Taeyong had 5 kills in the game. A new achievement, ranked #1 out of 77 with a reward of 1,023 BP. It’s extremely satisfactory. With a content grin, Taeyong takes off his headphones and stretches his arms above his head. _Ahh, all in a day’s work._

Sooyeon mentioned something about leftovers in the fridge, didn’t she? His stomach is grumbling something wild, and leftovers definitely sounds good. That or ramen with cheese on top, and maybe kimchi on the side. Suddenly he receives a call. Caller ID... Oh.

“Hyung! What’s up?”

“Don’t I get an ‘I missed you’?”

“Baekhyun-hyung, stop joking. How are you?”

He hears a grin in Baekhyun’s voice, tone light and easy. “Never better. Do you have time to play?”

“I was just about to make lunch. Five minutes?”

“If I hear you slurping ramen again I’m gonna peel your skin off.”

Taeyong snickers. “But that’s how you eat ramen, hyung.”

“That’s bullshit. And it’s garbage food no matter how you twist it.”

“Hyung, you eat the same garbage food,” reminds Taeyong.

“Not when I’m playing,” quips Baekhyun. “See you in five.”

Taeyong hops to the kitchen, boiling some water in the electric kettle and making cup ramen. He manages to sweep a pair of chopsticks from the drawers before quickly ambling back to his computer. The ramen will be done in three minutes, but the game will start in one. He and Baekhyun-hyung exchange stupid jabs as the counter goes off, loading them into the next game.

 

Two games and an hour and a half later, Baekhyun screams into his ears, whooping and hollering victory as more money is earned. Taeyong laughs, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants.

“We almost didn't have it!”

Taeyong laughs. “Hyung. You’ve been undefeated for 8 games now.” He checks his phone and notices a missed call. “Huh, someone called.”

“Who?”

“Um.” Taeyong pauses, squinting at the name. He freezes when the name registers. “Oh. Oh shit.”

“What, you missed your boss’ call or somethin'?”

“No. Uh. It’s fine. I’ll call them back later.”

“Coworker?”

“Classmate,” clarifies Taeyong. “No idea why they called.”

“Probably to meet up, hm? Something your anti-social ass will never understand.” Baekhyun smirks.

“Haha. Very funny,” Taeyong puts his phone face-down, ignoring the unexpected nervousness in his stomach. “One more game?”

“Nah, I’m gonna tap out now. Will be going out for drinks with a couple friends. Wanna join?”

“Hyung, I’m not old enough for drinks,” reminds Taeyong.

Baekhyun lets out a bark of laughter. “You’re the only underaged person I know who rejects free drinks.”

Taeyong can hear the grin in Baekhyun’s tone, and smiles as well. “Soju is cheaper than soda. Hell, they’re cheaper than a lot of things in the convenience store. Plus, you know I’m not good with alcohol.”

“Or socializing. You’ll be graduating in a few months. Live it up a little!”

“There’s only so much to live up to when I hang out with you,” Taeyong teases, knowing full well Baekhyun will blow up a storm.

“Hey now, you know I throw the best parties in town–”

“Ah oh no the connection is cutting off- off- off- Whoops.” Taeyong quickly peels the headphones off, and turns off the computer. Baekhyun sends a middle finger through text, and he replies in kind. Then he scrolls through his phone for a little, looking at memes and funny anime posts. He snorts and breaks into a smile with some of them, but the missed call weighs on his mind.

He clicks into Recent Calls, and stares at the top number on the list. Then, almost like with a mind of its own, his thumb presses the little call icon, and hears a very bland ringtone play from through the speakers.

“Hello?” Jaehyun says after a pause.

“It’s me.”

“Um, who’s me?”

“Don’t you have Caller ID? I’m Taeyong.”

“I do. I just can’t believe this is actually happening.”

Taeyong stops himself from rolling his eyes. It’s a close thing. “Nevermind. I’m gonna hang up.”

“Wait! It was because I called you, right? I-I had a very good reason to call!”

Taeyong waits.

And waits.

“Well?”

“Um.” He hears Jaehyun clearing his throat. He sounds a little breathless. “How’s your break been?”

“Lazy,” answers Taeyong, suspicious. “I’ve been playing games all day. Why?”

“Wanna go watch a movie?”

“Oh.”

It is not just ‘Oh.’ Taeyong’s brain is processing this at a mile a minute, boggled with questions. Why him? Why not Sicheng or Doyoung? Why does this sound like someone asking someone else out? At this, his heart pounds a little harder in his chest, and his brain promptly short-circuits.

“Uh,” he pauses. _Maybe there’s a way out._ “What movie?”

“I don’t know, any movie. My mom got a movie voucher, but she doesn’t like the movies currently showing, so she gave them to me. They’re going to expire at the end of the year. We can go to CGV first, then decide.”

“But I really–”

“The last Star Wars movie came out recently, right? Or what about that other one, the one with Englishmen, spies and guns? There’s even a romantic drama about a marriage, although from what I heard it’s captured what happens towards the end of the marriage. It sounds kind of boring, but it’s critically acclaimed!”

“Well,” Taeyong says after a long pause. “I have been meaning to check out the Star Wars movie.”

“Great! I’ll come pick you up, then we can go to the movies together.”

“We can just meet at the theatre.”

“Yeah but your place is on my way anyway.”

“But.”

“Don’t worry, it’s really no trouble at all!”

Resigning to his fate, Taeyong sighs. “How long will you be?”

“Oh, well. Ten minutes.”

“...” It is then that Taeyong notices the background noise from the call. “Were you so confident that you’d find someone to watch a movie with you?”

“I only asked you.”

“You–”

“See you soon bye!”

The line cuts before Taeyong gets another word in edgewise. He groans, letting his phone slide out of his hand. He needs to shower. And if his heart hasn’t calmed down any after stepping out of the shower, he blames it on rushing to get ready before Jaehyun comes. It’s one thing to watch a movie with _one other classmate_ , another thing altogether when the classmate is at his home, waiting for him to get ready like this is some kind of a–

No. It definitely is not like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Taeyong's sister. And watching (er, reading) these stupid boys dance around each other because they don't know what they, or each other, want is maddening but oh-so-satisfying. Because hello, idiots, that's totally the promise of a DATE RIGHT THERE and yes, I know it's a cruel place to stop at but guess what? Cliffies are my secret weapon and you can't do a single thing about it muahahaha *hides from the pitchforks*
> 
> *peeping from the corner* The Sincerest Thank You to all those who have read, subscribed, bookmarked and commented thus far. I LOVE YOUR COMMENTS they're GREAT and I love reading them!! Thank you, thank you, thank you. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and the rest of this story too <33
> 
> Take care and tread softly,  
> K

**Author's Note:**

> [tw](https://twitter.com/pnkpxls) | [cc](http://curiouscat.me/n_kei)


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